For university students like Sin Lewis from Risca interested in joining the Welsh technology industry, apprenticeships are definitely proving the right way up the career ladder.

Keen to gain some hands-on experience while working towards a professional and academic qualification, the 22-year-old student from the University of Glamorgan recently joined Newbridge-based contract electronics manufacturer Axiom as part of an innovative scheme to help attract and improve skills in the industry.

Known as Network75, the university-led programme was launched five years ago and offers students a way of gaining broad-based industry experience throughout their degree course via a network of 75 SMEs which will each host at least one promising student during their five-year course.

In addition, engineering, technology or manufacturing SMEs companies in an Objective 1 area get a chance to employ talented and enthusiastic undergraduates who can learn and grow with the company and, following graduation, represent a valuable addition to their staff.

Sin, the winner of the programme's Student of the Year award, is the first apprentice to join Axiom via the programme and says there are many benefits attached to gaining experience while working towards a professional and academic qualification. "For me, this literally meant the difference between attending university or not. The Network75 scheme offers students like myself, who are interested in entering the industry non-specific sector, hands-on training with the added bonus of being paid throughout. "As a result I've been able to work in different sections of the business, try my hand at a number of client-critical applications and put my problem solving skills into practise."

Getting the opportunity to understand just how a company with over 200 employees is run on a day-to-day basis, Sin followed a six-month period visiting each department, after which she decided to pursue a specialist career path in the quality department.

Dean Taylor, quality executive at Axiom, said: "Using a stringent quality system to underpin your manufacturing process can literally mean the difference between a satisfied customer or not. By being able to let Sin realise its importance firsthand has been fantastic and I would recommend anyone interested in pursuing a career in the technology industry to sign up to the scheme." Sin now hopes to stay on at the company after completing her apprenticeship.